Confusion, anarchy and paralysis – these are the three main characteristics of the new government.
The makeshift coalition in the Punjab, headed by a complete novice and remotely controlled by various power brokers, is beginning to collapse on itself. The Punjab bureaucracy, earlier controller by one strong man Shehbaz Sharif, continues to remain in disarray. This week saw another reshuffle in the bureaucracy. The inspector general of the police was changed for the fourth time in eight months since the ruling party came to power.
“It is simply a case of too many chefs spoiling the broth,” says a Lahore-based journalist. “The former IG was closer to the governor and he was let go. The new one is plugged into a top bureaucrat in the PM House, much closer to the prime minister. One man is of this camp and the other is of another. One bureaucrat is closer to Chaudhrys of Gujrat and the other reports to somebody else. It is a mess,” the journalist said. “Trouble brews every now and then because of the original sin. Imran Khan committed the original sin by installing a rubber stamp in Lahore as chief minister. Instability was part of the set up from the very beginning.”
Sources in the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf say that PM Khan, who was earlier hesitant about removing Usman Buzdar, has finally gotten fed up with his choice. However, his relations are strained with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and new worries have emerged. “We are worried that if we now remove Buzdar, will we have enough numbers to bring in the person of our choice? All is not well with our coalition partners. Chaudhrys are not happy either. The internal rift in the party is very much there. Things can get out of control. We can’t afford that. Hence the stalemate,” revealed a PTI insider requesting anonymity.
Things are not too pretty in the federal cabinet either. Infighting and grumbling continues. Some cabinet members revealed to the media about a possible reshuffle in the cabinet. Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar and Finance Minister Asad Umar were on the chopping block, according to this piece of news. Jehangir Tareen remains heavily engaged in governance matters and has supported replacement of the finance minister. “We have to wait till the budget and the signing up of the IMF program. We have some high profile visits of the prime minister to Iran and China coming up. These changes have to wait for now,” said the PTI insider.
Tax amnesty was discussed in the cabinet on Tuesday but it could not be finalised in the cabinet. Some ministers complained that it would discredit them politically. On Wednesday, a consultative meeting was called but that too did not achieve anything. The matter was postponed till the next cabinet meeting.
Opinion is divided on how to get it implemented legally. There is a strong possibility that the opposition could knock it out in Senate if implemented through an ordinance, by passing a resolution against it under Article 89. The suggestion to make it part of the money bill, bypassing the Senate, is also being considered but the downside of that is that till the budget is passed, the benefits of the bill will not be reaped till June while the money is need now.
The fact that no compromise with any opposition party could be reached indicates continued acrimony inside and outside the parliament. The issue of filling vacant seats in the election commission remains unaddressed and no headway on the extension of the military courts was in sight.
Asif Zardari and his sister Faryal remained on bail till the end of the month and PTI’s hawks continued their bombardment, promising new cases against the leaders of both opposition parties.
“They are waiting for the bail granted to Nawaz Sharif to end by the first week of May. They want Nawaz Sharif to go back to jail before they put a hand on Asif Zardari,” said a veteran journalist who keeps an eye on NAB’s proceedings.
Next month, there is an important meeting in Paris reviewing Pakistan’s progress on the action plan by the Financial Action Taskforce. It does not look like government will have an easy time at the meeting. If we are lucky, we might remain on the grey list. If not, we might be on the blacklist by the end of the year. “If that happens then all bets are off. That would be the biggest blow ever in the current circumstances,” said a senior economic reporter in Islamabad.
“This is the Collin Powell moment in our history. Powell opposed invasion of Iraq when all neo-cons like Dick Cheney, John Bolton and Paul Wolfowitz prodded President Bush to invade Iraq. Powell had told Bush that the pottery shop principle applied in Iraq. If you break it, you buy it. The same applies in Pakistan now. Those who have broken the system should own it now,” said a senior analyst on the logjam and the paralysis persisting in Pakistan.
The makeshift coalition in the Punjab, headed by a complete novice and remotely controlled by various power brokers, is beginning to collapse on itself. The Punjab bureaucracy, earlier controller by one strong man Shehbaz Sharif, continues to remain in disarray. This week saw another reshuffle in the bureaucracy. The inspector general of the police was changed for the fourth time in eight months since the ruling party came to power.
“It is simply a case of too many chefs spoiling the broth,” says a Lahore-based journalist. “The former IG was closer to the governor and he was let go. The new one is plugged into a top bureaucrat in the PM House, much closer to the prime minister. One man is of this camp and the other is of another. One bureaucrat is closer to Chaudhrys of Gujrat and the other reports to somebody else. It is a mess,” the journalist said. “Trouble brews every now and then because of the original sin. Imran Khan committed the original sin by installing a rubber stamp in Lahore as chief minister. Instability was part of the set up from the very beginning.”
Sources in the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf say that PM Khan, who was earlier hesitant about removing Usman Buzdar, has finally gotten fed up with his choice
Sources in the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf say that PM Khan, who was earlier hesitant about removing Usman Buzdar, has finally gotten fed up with his choice. However, his relations are strained with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and new worries have emerged. “We are worried that if we now remove Buzdar, will we have enough numbers to bring in the person of our choice? All is not well with our coalition partners. Chaudhrys are not happy either. The internal rift in the party is very much there. Things can get out of control. We can’t afford that. Hence the stalemate,” revealed a PTI insider requesting anonymity.
Things are not too pretty in the federal cabinet either. Infighting and grumbling continues. Some cabinet members revealed to the media about a possible reshuffle in the cabinet. Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar and Finance Minister Asad Umar were on the chopping block, according to this piece of news. Jehangir Tareen remains heavily engaged in governance matters and has supported replacement of the finance minister. “We have to wait till the budget and the signing up of the IMF program. We have some high profile visits of the prime minister to Iran and China coming up. These changes have to wait for now,” said the PTI insider.
Tax amnesty was discussed in the cabinet on Tuesday but it could not be finalised in the cabinet. Some ministers complained that it would discredit them politically. On Wednesday, a consultative meeting was called but that too did not achieve anything. The matter was postponed till the next cabinet meeting.
Opinion is divided on how to get it implemented legally. There is a strong possibility that the opposition could knock it out in Senate if implemented through an ordinance, by passing a resolution against it under Article 89. The suggestion to make it part of the money bill, bypassing the Senate, is also being considered but the downside of that is that till the budget is passed, the benefits of the bill will not be reaped till June while the money is need now.
The fact that no compromise with any opposition party could be reached indicates continued acrimony inside and outside the parliament. The issue of filling vacant seats in the election commission remains unaddressed and no headway on the extension of the military courts was in sight.
Asif Zardari and his sister Faryal remained on bail till the end of the month and PTI’s hawks continued their bombardment, promising new cases against the leaders of both opposition parties.
“They are waiting for the bail granted to Nawaz Sharif to end by the first week of May. They want Nawaz Sharif to go back to jail before they put a hand on Asif Zardari,” said a veteran journalist who keeps an eye on NAB’s proceedings.
Next month, there is an important meeting in Paris reviewing Pakistan’s progress on the action plan by the Financial Action Taskforce. It does not look like government will have an easy time at the meeting. If we are lucky, we might remain on the grey list. If not, we might be on the blacklist by the end of the year. “If that happens then all bets are off. That would be the biggest blow ever in the current circumstances,” said a senior economic reporter in Islamabad.
“This is the Collin Powell moment in our history. Powell opposed invasion of Iraq when all neo-cons like Dick Cheney, John Bolton and Paul Wolfowitz prodded President Bush to invade Iraq. Powell had told Bush that the pottery shop principle applied in Iraq. If you break it, you buy it. The same applies in Pakistan now. Those who have broken the system should own it now,” said a senior analyst on the logjam and the paralysis persisting in Pakistan.